The State Capitol, Winston Churchill and Murals – Warsaw MO
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Published: November 8th 2016
The drive from Frank Russell Campground on Mark Twain Lake near Monroe City MO to Thibaut Point Campground on Harry S. Truman Lake near Warsaw MO took a little over three hours and was uneventful. Mark Twain Lake and Harry S. Truman Lake – how much more Missouri can a fella get than that? Both are U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facilities, and both are fantastic “get away from it all” locations.
I spent all day Friday, October 14, 2016 with my younger cousin who lives in nearby Osceola MO but whom I haven’t seen (beyond a couple of brief encounters at funerals, etc.) since I entered the Marine Corps in 1967. Fred is like many cousins – our age difference was too great to bond us as children and next thing you know everyone is busy trying to earn a living which, in Fred’s instance, brought him to Missouri in the 1970s. We met for breakfast and then got caught up on each other’s adult life as we were awaiting the cable service technician’s arrival to repair post-lightening-strike damage. He then showed me around his community. After his wife finished her work day, we all went for dinner. I
had a very nice day, and it was good to get reconnected. His sister is my cousin in Riverside CA whom I refer to often with family and friends and visit periodically.
My first tourist stop was to be the
Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City MO. I selected a “Politicianless Saturday,” October 15, 2016, to make my visit as traffic and P-A-R-K-I-N-G are so much easier in any state capitol area on the weekend; however, sometimes that comes with a price – many capitols offer only self-guided tours on the weekend. That was not the case with the Missouri capitol. Knowing only that the drive from Warsaw to Jefferson City would take the better part of two hours, I conservatively (huh, what’s that about?) allocated 2 ½ hours and had ample spare time. Adjacent to where I parked the Ram, I found two sculptures - the Signing of the Treaty statue and the Fountain of the Centaurs – as well as a Liberty Bell reproduction. After giving the art a onceover, I walked across the street to get myself grounded in the tour protocol and to ascertain the location of the Missouri State Museum. All I had been able to
harvest on the Internet was “on the capitol grounds.”
I spoke with the attendant on duty (who turned out to be our tour guide) and learned of the location of the state museum. Surprise, surprise, Uncle Larry, the state museum is housed in the working capitol! I have found the state museum housed in the historic capitol, but never in the working capitol. I decided to get a start on the museum while closely monitoring the time and awaiting the start of the tour. The temporary exhibit “Civil War Missouri: A House Dividing” was closed, having ended its run, and the next exhibit had not yet opened. The permanent exhibits in the museum, for the most part, consist of informational placards that provide a mere cursory overview of numerous subjects. For example, in the famous Missourians exhibit, Dred Scott is given nineteen words while George Washington Carver is given eleven words. Other exhibits highlight “True to the Union! German Loyalty to the Adopted Land,” “Black Genius: Jazz, Ragtime and the American Sound,” “Uncommon Valor: The Southern Military Tradition,” “Empire Builders: Anglo Southerners and Westward Expansion” and “Anglo Southerner Religion: Old-Time Preaching and Dinner on the Ground;” while one section
each is devoted to Tourism, Lumbering, Agriculture, Mining, Transportation and Manufacturing. There is not enough content in the exhibits for the visitor to “get a nibble,” let alone to “sink your teeth into.” Perhaps, one can imagine getting just a faint aroma of the state’s history when Porky Pig bursts through the bass drum exclaiming, "Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks." Very, very disappointing.
Sadly, and unexpectedly, I finished my survey of the museum just as the tour group was forming at the designated location. Our first stop was in the House Lounge on the third floor in the west wing of the capitol building. While the lounge is open to the public on weekdays (it is secured on weekends), the room may be in use at any point for official functions. The tour guide had access, but a return visit for “Self-Guided Art Appreciation 101” and for photography was not possible. I think the 1937
Thomas Hart Benton murals in the House Lounge tell Missouri’s story quite well; however, they created a lot of
controversy in the day. Our tour continued with more painted art, sculptures and stained glass – all of it quite pleasing to Uncle Larry’s eye. Our tour guide told
us the story. It seems that when funds were distributed for decorating the capitol, a one-million-dollar mathematical error occurred. That was a bit of coinage in 1917. Some said the funds should be returned, but the holder of the purse string said the funds would be used for art and art alone. Bravo! A word of caution, the architecture of the building should not be lost in the art. A “highly-recommended-by-Uncle-Larry” Ozarks Public Television presentation,
Stately Images: The Public Art of Missouri’s State Capitol (28:14), provides an interesting, in-depth look at the painted art, the stained glass and some of the statues but somehow misses the bust sculptures of famous Missourians. I will include a sample to whet the appetite and allow those who are so minded to watch the video. Since the art can be appreciated by the likes of Uncle Larry and since the capitol art tells “The Story of Missouri” much better than the “state museum,” the capitol is a must see, and the tour is a definite “add on” if at all possible.
My next stop was, again, outside and adjacent to where I had parked the truck (which makes it near the Signing of the Treaty statue and the Fountain of the
Centaurs). Unfortunately, like the Centaurs, the fountain in the Missouri Veterans Memorial was dry – perhaps, the powers to be are preparing for winter, but we all know that a fountain without water is like chicken dumplings without any lings. Perhaps, I’ll visit in August! Yeah, right!
I took the more scenic route back to Warsaw and, in a classic senior moment as I was passing through Sedalia MO, decided to take advantage of this weekend day to stop by the Pettis County Courthouse and its associated
Vietnam War Memorial. The courthouse is interesting but not stupendous; however, it is surrounded by several unique and interesting memorials. A WW I memorial stands proudly, front and center while an eternal flame stands nearby. The Boy Scouts have erected a replica Statue of Liberty, dedicated to “their forefathers who made possible the freedom of these United States” while the V.F.W. has dedicated an artillery piece and mortar “to veterans of all wars.” The most unique and touching is a memorial, “In memory & honor of our war dogs. They have served our country with devotion and selflessness.” The inscription continues, “My eyes are your eyes to watch and protect you and yours. My
ears are your ears to hear and detect evil minds in the dark. My nose is your nose to scent the invader of your domain and, so you may live, my life is also yours.” A canine memorial on a courthouse lawn is a first for Uncle Larry! Oh, yes, my reason for stopping was to see the Vietnam Memorial. The black granite remembrance is topped with a Fallen Soldier Battle Cross and lists the names of twelve local men, “… whose valor and devotion to duty took them from us. We remember!” Thanks, guys.
I said I had stopped at the courthouse on Saturday during a senior moment, because my first stop on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 was at the Pettis County Courthouse in, ta dah, Sedalia to take a peek at the murals inside the courthouse. Murals are really a coin flip, but these murals are fantastic. Their location, however, makes their appreciation a challenge. Unbeknownst to me, they are located inside a second-floor courtroom! My ten o’clockish arrival caught the judge having his first cup of coffee, and the courtroom was unoccupied. Mural enthusiasts might plan accordingly. Each panel portrays some aspect of Pettis County history.
One panel prompted me to Google
Scott Joplin, who left Texarkana TX to teach piano in Sedalia during his early adult years – the time when he wrote the music that brought him fame and prompted his move to New York City. Most of the other depictions have no obvious connections for the outsider but probably would for the local. The art, says Uncle Larry, speaks for itself. I asked if there was an interpretive brochure available and learned of none. I searched for a like-themed web site and found none. Since most people sitting in a Pettis County courtroom are probably not in an art appreciation class and since many local residents work the same hours the courthouse is open to the public, I would suggest to any Pettis County official who might stumble onto this blog that a brochure or a web site be created OR that scheduled tours are made available so YOUR COMMUNITY and its visitors can appreciate this hidden gem AND so your great community asset is publicized.
My next stop was for, go figure, more murals at Sedalia City Hall. For all of the good things I had to say about the courthouse murals
…. Well, let’s be kind and say art is subjective; however, OBJECTIVELY, there a only 3-4 small murals in the lobby area and hallway – which does make them readily accessible during regular business hours. I did find one very interesting painting. I’m not sure if this depiction is of the fisherman in Ernest Hemingway’s
The Old Man and the Sea or not. My initial thoughts were of John Brown on a fishing trip before the Harpers Ferry fiasco. The similarity to the Brown image presented by John Steuart Curry in his painting
Tragic Prelude, which I saw in the Kansas State Capitol in 2015 -
Ike, Brown, Oz and … Bugs??? – Manhattan KS, is striking. I guess Uncle Larry has to admit that art has one redeeming quality – there is no right answer.
I next headed for Boonville MO and the
Old Cooper County Jail and Hanging Barn. Completed in 1848 for $6,091.50, it was the oldest continuously used county jail in Missouri until its closing in 1978. Slaves quarried the 2 ½ foot thick limestone blocks used for construction of the two-story building. Each story had one large room. The second story room was equipped with 1 ¼ inch rings bolted into the outer walls. Reminiscent of an old dungeon,
A Court Ordered The Closure Of This Fine Facility???
Old Cooper County Jail and Hanging Barn - Boonville MOthe prisoners were shackled to these rings at the ankles. The large room on the ground level, known as the “bullpen,” held slaves destined for the auction block. In 1871, a steamboat brought iron “box cells” which were installed using the occupants of the jail as laborers. The most famous of the many prisoners associated with the jail was Frank James. On April 24, 1884, James was brought to the Cooper County Jail by Sheriff John Rogers on a warrant for a train robbery that took place in 1876. Sympathetic citizens of Boonville raised his bond in a matter of hours. The case was later dismissed for lack of evidence. Later additions to the jail “complex” included an adjoining sheriff’s residence, a brick privy, a cistern and a smoke house; but, unfortunately, none of these out buildings has survived.
The last major construction occurred in 1878 with the building of the jail stable/barn, which, yup, housed the horses the sheriff would need for a posse. And all this time, Uncle Larry thought the posse members supplied their own horses! The lower level was the stable area and the upper level was the hay loft. I suppose that was so
A Step Or Two Below The “No Tell Motel,” I’d Say
Old Cooper County Jail and Hanging Barn - Boonville MO the horses didn’t have to climb the stairs. The lower level of the barn featured two large doors – one to turn out the horses to pasture, and the other for cross ventilation and to bring in a fresh supply of hay. But alas, both the loft and the stable served secondary functions – the loft displayed the top side of a trap door, and the stable displayed the bottom side. On January 31, 1930, both barn doors were opened so the public could watch Lawrence Mabry, 19, climb the (unlucky) 13 steps to the loft where he was “hung by the neck until dead” for a robbery and killing in Pettis County – the last public hanging in Missouri. In 1978, a Federal Court declared the Cooper County Jail “cruel and unusual punishment” closing the cell doors permanently and bringing to Boonville and Cooper County the end of an era. Like it or not, this is a chapter of American history and as George Santayana (not Winston Churchill) first said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Highly recommended for history buffs, but for the average tourist, probably not so much.
I could find
no specific information on the location of the
Katy Railroad Bridge, also in Boonville, other than “next to the casino,” but my jail tour guide gave me directions. When the last train crossed the 1932 MKT Railroad bridge at Boonville in May 1986, Dennis Huff was the engineer. Huff’s friend, Wayne Lammers, recorded the event, "
">The Last Train to Cross the Booneville, Missouri Katy RR Bridge May 23, 1986" (3:50). The video starts with the 408-foot lift span in the up position, documents its lowering, shows the approach and crossing of the train (within a few feet of the camera) and, finally with the clearing of the bridge by the last car, Huff heralds the end of an era with a forlorn 25-second blast of the train’s horn. Hmmm, do modern trains have whistles or horns? Huff, Lammers and hundreds of others attended the resurrection of the bridge as part of the Katy Trail State Park. Two more phases are planned with the first phase being a similar walkway on the opposite side of the river and, eventually, the second phase to finish the historic river crossing by putting the lift span back into regular operation to serve the public as a walking/bike path most of the time but to have the ability to serve
Well Done, Columbia
Boone County Courthouse - Columbia MO watercraft as necessary. After departing the railroad bridge, I happened upon the “in progress” Butternut Bread Murals in downtown Boonville. What a nice surprise!
My next planned stop was Columbia MO, home of Carl Edwards, NASCAR Cup driver and my Florida aunt’s favorite driver. Briefly, I had encountered a retired Missouri state trooper who hailed from Columbia at Moss Glen Falls in Stowe VT in 2012 (
So Much to See and to Do in Northern Vermont). He was good friends with Carl’s father, had known Carl since he was in diapers and said he’s still the same kid he always was. Refreshing. My stop in Columbia was to see the Vietnam War Memorial adjacent to the Boone County Courthouse. First, the Boone County Courthouse is quite a gal in her own right. Second, the Vietnam War Memorial is a part of an impressive veterans’ memorial on the courthouse grounds. Third, the Vietnam War Memorial is totally unremarkable in and of itself; however, within the context of the garden, it is totally effective and makes the stop completely worthwhile. Columbia is an interesting city – In fact, I was so impressed with my brief visit that I plan to make a lengthier stop when the University of Missouri IS
Saint Mary The Virgin Aldermanbury – Reborn
National Winston Churchill Museum - Fulton MO NOT IN SESSION. Sorry, I guess I’m turning into the crotchety old man who no longer like crowds, heavy traffic and scarce parking.
The
National Winston Churchill Museum in Fulton MO was my next stop. As I have typed many times, “What makes something a NATIONAL museum of anything?” Well, this my friends, is the real deal. First, it is located on the campus of Westminster College where, on March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered one his most significant and famous speeches, formally entitled, “The Sinews of Peace,” but best known for the phrase, "… an iron curtain has descended across the Continent (of Europe)." That speech effectively marked the beginning of the Cold War and forever linked Westminster College (and Fulton) to Winston Churchill. Second, Westminster College set out in the 1960s to mark what would be the 20th anniversary of Churchill's visit. After contemplation and debate, Westminster College settled on the rather ambitious and somewhat crazy notion of moving a fire-gutted, abandoned Christopher Wren-designed church from London, England to Fulton. This Church, Saint Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury, had stood in London since 1677 but had been badly damaged during the London Blitz of World War II. The church was dismantled
Although Damaged, Communion Pieces Survived
National Winston Churchill Museum - Fulton MO stone by stone, moved to Westminster's campus and then rebuilt to Wren's original specifications. Beneath this Church is the National Churchill Museum. Third, an act passed by the United States Congress designated the museum as America's National Churchill Museum. I suppose the powers to be in Fulton didn’t need much more than that endorsement to use the word National!
Either the museum or the church should give cause for a visit for most; however, the combination is unignorable. I found it interesting that Churchill-Truman Day in Fulton, the day of Churchill’s speech, came less than a year after the death of the man whom Churchill had befriended and with whom he had negotiated the serpentine series of events that led to victory in World War II – Franklin D. Roosevelt (died April 12, 1945). The museum is chock full of placards about Churchill, of course, but also contains interesting information about the history of the church and dozens of pictures and dialogue about the controversial disassembly and relocation of the church ruins to Fulton. Other placards describe the connection between the church and William Shakespeare and the accomplishments of Christopher Wren, the church architect, following the Great Fire of
Simply Elegant
National Winston Churchill Museum - Fulton MO London in 1666. The artifacts are few but include the 1720s-era Sword of the Lord Mayor of London and silver Victorian communion pieces that, in spite of being locked in the church’s safe during the December 29, 1940 blitz, still carry scars from the intense fire. Time to fess up. The National Winston Churchill Museum vastly exceeded Uncle Larry’s expectations and refuels my notion of “unless you look, you won’t know.”
I next stopped in Vienna MO at the Maries County Courthouse to see the simple, unremarkable-beyond-its-implications
Vietnam War Memorial, which happens to be across from the post office. Thank you, Ralph and James. I got several curious from looks from puzzled prospective postal patrons as though I might have been the first visitor to the memorial since its placement and dedication. I wonder how many people later stopped to see what it was that had interested the stranger.
I made a stop at the
Clifty Creek Natural Bridge near Dixon MO. My information suggested I had a choice – a 1.1-mile hike to the attraction plus the return or a 2.5-mile loop. That’s almost a push, so I decided to play it by ear. After what seemed to be about a mile
and a half, I had decided that I had somehow missed the natural bridge; but, regardless, decided that continuing on the loop (vs. backtracking) would 1) be the shorter route back to the parking lot, and 2) bring me to the natural bridge just in case my internal odometer was inaccurate. Within two minutes of that decision, all of a sudden, BOOM! The bridge appeared so suddenly right in front of me, it almost seemed to have leaped into my sight. I actually was slightly startled! The natural bridge is interesting, and the hike is very nice for those who are so inclined.
My next stop of the day was to be the
Wooden Railroad Trestle Bridge near Saint Robert MO. My information indicated the bridge was built in 1941 to bring building supplies to Fort Leonard Wood MO and was supposed to be located next to the Elbow Inn and BBQ Pit. The Elbow Inn sounds like a really cool biker bar with donated bras hanging from the ceiling. What a great way to end the day – a unique eatery. I found the Elbow Inn but found no sign of the Wooden Railroad Trestle Bridge. There was, however, a neat
steel bridge that is on Historic Route 66. That’s not what I had been looking for, but cool nonetheless. A few pictures later, I drove back to the Elbow Inn. It was closed, and the sign said, “Going out of Business. Everything Must Go.” I stopped at a BBQ joint near the Interstate and got some overpriced mediocre dinner. The best laid plans ….
My final planned stop of the day was to be the Route 66 Museum in Lebanon MO; however, I found no signs for such a museum in three passes so I returned to Warsaw. “Next day research” found the attraction is housed in the local library. No wonder I had such difficulty ascertaining hours, etc. Over the course of the day, I also had made two expectedly unremarkable stops at “newer model” covered bridges – the 2004 Centennial Park 54' Covered Bridge in Sedalia and the 2000 Hensley Park 75' Covered Bridge in Fulton. Both are worth a brief visit only if you happen to be driving past.
Although the weather was marginal for all but two days of my week-long stay, I had a nice time in the Warsaw/Jefferson City area.
This is one of the most art-laden weeks I have ever had on
The Great Adventure. I got reconnected with a long-lost cousin and met his wife – that’s three consecutive weeks I’ve connected or reconnected with family and/or friends. Pretty cool. Traffic was never a problem, ya s’poz, but driving distances can chew up the clock quite rapidly. No problem, I just keep her off the Interstate as much as possible and enjoy rural America. The fall colors are beginning to catch up with me – perhaps while I’m in Arkansas….
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bud johanson
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Fort Leonardwood,Mo.
In 1956 I joined the Army Reserve. We took a bus starting in Fort Dodge and picking up recruits along the way. Somewhere in eastern Missouri, I think Jefferson City, we stopped for a short bathroom break. I saw for the first time a separate drinking fountain and bathroom for the blacks and whites I just remember it made quite an impression on a 17 year old greenhorn from Central Iowa.